YouTube co-founder steps down as CEO

Chad Hurley departs Internet vid site

YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley has exited as CEO of the Internet vid behemoth.

Hurley acknowledged in a statement that Google exec Salar Kamangar had been running day-to-day operations for the past two years. With Hurley’s departure, Kamangar will assume the CEO title. “I will continue to serve as an adviser and am excited to witness the next phase of YouTube,” Hurley said Friday, announcing his move.

Hurley’s co-founder, Steve Chen, left YouTube in 2008 but remains in the Google fold. Google bought the fast-rising company for $1.65 billion in 2006, a year after its launch.

YouTube’s the undisputed leader in Internet vid viewing. Google has begun to make strides in monetizing its wildly eclectic array of user-generated video and frequently unauthorized clips of copyrighted material posted by users. (Google has implemented a content tracking system that allows copyright holders to alert YouTube when unauthorized material is posted.)

It was YouTube’s exponential growth that spurred NBC Universal and News Corp. to partner in the launch of Hulu in 2007.